NEWS

A national Latino campaign group has emerged for the first time as a Washington fundraising powerhouse, a sign both of the growing institutional power of Latino voters and of the massive opposition to President Donald Trump. Bold PAC, the campaign arm for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has traditionally raised less than $1 million during entire two-year campaign cycles, and contributed to roughly a dozen candidates each time. But since Trump began his presidential run, the group has seen its fundraising soar. The PAC raised $6.1 million during the 2016 election cycle, more than a sixfold increase from what it raised for 2014.

“By professionalizing ourselves, we will be able to stop missing opportunities,” Cárdenas told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday. “One of the biggest reasons why organizations never live up to their hopes and dreams is because they don’t have the resources. They don’t dedicate the resources to be able to meet the needs that they’ve dedicated themselves to do.”

In the primaries, Bold PAC has been endorsing candidates like Sylvia Garcia, a Texas state senator who won the primary to replace retiring Rep. Gene Green in a heavily Democratic district on Tuesday. Garcia would be the first Latina elected to Congress from Texas.

Beyond just getting Latinos elected, a lot of the bigger-picture focus has been on winning back the House for Democrats, including supporting non-Latino candidates. “We’re looking to be team players and to help elect good people all over the country, so we can take back the majority,” Sanchez said.